


fooled around and fell in love

by you_idjits



Series: college kids [7]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Also this is the finale, Alternate Universe - College/University, College Roommates, Deaf Character, Dean and Cas are sappy and gross, M/M, Weddings, deaf!Cas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-24 19:47:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3782170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/you_idjits/pseuds/you_idjits
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean has known for a long time that Cas is it for him. But that means more to him now, here, watching the first of their friends get married, than it ever has before. Cas is it for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	fooled around and fell in love

The months start to blur together. Junior spring is busy, too busy. Dean begins picking up shifts at a garage in town, and Cas is volunteering at the local Deaf Culture Center, and suddenly their time together starts feeling threadbare. They catch each other in doorways, and hallways. Dean’s birthday comes and goes, then Valentine’s Day.

The busier Dean gets, though, the more time he makes for Cas. He institutes a mandatory Saturday movie night, where they order takeout and stay in. Dean likes that one. He likes their Wednesday lunches too. They always go to the same diner and Cas always orders the same cheeseburger and it’s nice. The routine. Dean could get used to a routine.

He thinks about it, sometimes, late at night when Cas is face-down on his pillow, dead to the world, but Dean’s glassy-eyed-staring at the ceiling. Or when he’s in class and Cas is snapchatting him photos of cute animals. Or when he sees couples kissing in the street. He thinks about picking out rings. He thinks about buying a real house together, with a yard and– and a door that needs repainting. He thinks about the future they have together.

Their future is going to be Saturday movie nights and kisses in doorways. It’s going to be busy, too busy. But it’s going to be good.

Cas comes home one day from class and announces, _Gabriel and Kali are getting married._

_You mean Gabriel and the girlfriend he dumps every other week? Married?_

_He’s asked me to be best man,_ Cas signs. He looks vaguely annoyed, but pleased too. Gabe and Kali might not be built to last, but marriage is a big commitment. It might even be good for them.

 _Awesome_ , Dean signs. He picks Cas’s bag off his shoulder and then leans in to kiss him. Cas wraps his arms around Dean’s waist, lets Dean nose at his jaw. “I’m your plus one, right?” he mumbles against Cas’s neck. It’s not like Cas can read his lips, but he can at least feel the vibrations and know that Dean’s talking.

He pauses kissing Cas for long enough to sign, _When’s the wedding?_

 _May_ , _just after finals. You’re my plus one._

Dean laughs, and Cas looks at him funny, and then Dean kisses him again.

 _Gabe’s gonna make a great husband,_ Dean signs, fingerspelling _Gabe_. Gabriel’s preferred name sign is somewhat vulgar, and Dean tries to avoid it wherever possible. How the guy’s gonna get married when he’s got the mental maturity of a middle school boy, Dean doesn’t know. But it’ll happen, and Dean and Cas will be there.

 

May creeps up on them. One day they’re standing in their apartment kissing and talking about the wedding, and the next Dean is getting fitted for a tuxedo.

 _A good suit makes a man_ , Cas signs.

 _Whatever, asshole._ Dean signs back, sloppily. _You’re not the one getting poked with pins._ He makes a face, and Cas sticks out his tongue in retort. Oh, the versatility of nonverbal communication.

“Please stop moving your arms,” the attendant says.

“Then how the fuck am I supposed to talk to my boyfriend?” Dean snaps, which is rude of him, yeah, but he’s impatient. The suit’s fine. He doesn’t need to look like goddamn royalty.

 _You look very nice_ , Cas signs, like he knows what Dean’s thinking. It probably shows on his face, the discomfort. Dean comes from Walmart clothes, from scrounging up quarters to do laundry, from cheap motels and cheap beer. He doesn’t belong in a tux shop like this.

He has this suspicion that Cas comes from money. He doesn’t know where he gets the idea, because Cas has made it clear his family is off-limits for discussion, but there it is. Pressing at the back of Dean’s mind. It’s something in the way Cas holds himself, or the way he holds a wine glass. He’ll be fine at the wedding, but Dean…

Then Cas starts signing about all the things he’d like to do to Dean in that tuxedo, and the insecurities go away.

 

The wedding is on a Sunday afternoon, when the sky is a still and cloudless blue: a perfect sky to be married under. Dean and Cas ride to the church with Gabriel. Gabriel keeps looking out the window and sighing, too nervous to crack his usual jokes.

Dean puts a hand on Cas’s knee to catch his attention. _You look nice_ , he signs. He pats Cas’s bowtie. _I like blue._

Cas kisses his cheek. He takes Dean’s hand in his.

“What time is it?” asks Gabriel, as they pull up outside the church.

 _Almost four,_ Dean signs. _Come on, you’ll be fine._ He takes Gabriel by the arm and more or less drags him into the church. The pews are already filling, everyone in their Sunday best – Dean spots Hannah and Muriel, two of Cas’s friends from the Deaf Culture Center, and waves hello. Gabriel marches up to the altar, combing his hair back with a hand, and starts rapid-fire signing with the minister.

 _You do your job_ , Dean signs. _I’m gonna go sit with Anna and Ruby, okay?_

Cas nods, but he looks distracted, stressed. He only glances at Dean’s hands.

 _Hey,_ Dean signs. _Hey, Cas._ He puts his hands on Cas’s hips, squaring Cas to face him.

Cas blinks. _What?_

“Just. It’s gonna be fine.”

_I know._

_You’ll do great. I’m proud of you._ And then he shakes his hand in the _I love you_ sign, smiling, and leans in to kiss Cas. It’s quick, but Cas leans into it, hands fluttering over Dean’s shoulders. Then he pulls away, smiling at Dean before heading for the altar.

Dean gets it. Weddings are stressful. But he thinks they could handle it.

The ceremony is great – gorgeous, even. Dean has no idea where they got the minister, who speaks aloud as he signs the words, so everyone in the audience can follow along. It’s awesome. Gabriel clearly isn’t watching the minister’s hands, though, because he’s too fixated on Kali. She’s captivating, mesmerizing in her wedding dress. They both look so, so happy. Like they’re living a frickin’ dream.

Dean keeps an eye on Cas, who stands with hands clasped behind his back at Gabriel’s shoulder. He looks like some kind of GQ model, dark hair and dark suit, five o’clock shadow and nice leather shoes. Sometimes Dean just can’t believe how lucky he’s been. This guy’s too good for him.

But Dean’s a long way from the place he was two years ago, where he would have said, _I don’t deserve Cas._ Like, yeah, Dean’s terrified of monogamy, terrified that he’ll mess this up somehow, terrified that he doesn’t deserve Castiel. Dean has a lot of issues that have piled up over the years. But Cas knows that, and they’re working on it together, on helping Dean get over the self-hatred and give up the self-deprecation. He deserves to be happy, right? And Cas makes him happy.

Especially right now, right here, in the church. The service ends, and Gabriel and Kali kiss, and Cas’s face splits open into the widest smile. Dean feels like his heart is a hot air balloon, floating out of his chest and up into the blue sky.

Everything moves quickly after that. Dean is herded into a car with a bunch of strangers headed for the reception. He’s wedged between Kali’s maid of honor and somebody’s great-grandmother. The maid of honor is talking to one of the bridesmaids, giggling about some tradition between the best man and the maid of honor.

“–and he’s so cute, too!” she’s saying. “Mmm, I can’t wait to get a piece of that.”

Dean feels his face flame up. Should he say something? He should probably say something.

“God, and did you see those baby blues?” the bridesmaid says.

“I _know_. He had better be single.”

Dean feels like he has an obligation to, like, defend Cas’s honor or something. He clears his throat. “Uh, hey, ladies?” They look over at him. He shifts uncomfortably. “About the – uh – the best man–”

“Do you know his name?”

“Yeah, it’s Castiel, and he’s–”

“Do you think you could introduce us?”

Dean covers his red, hot face with his hands. “He’s my boyfriend,” he blurts out.

“Excuse me?” the maid of honor says, leaning in like she can’t hear him.

“Castiel. He’s, um. Gay. And my boyfriend.”

“Oh,” she says, straightening. “Cool. Thanks for letting me know.”

And that’s it. She and her friend move on to other conversation. The tension in Dean’s muscles eases. That… wasn’t so bad.

They make it to the reception without any further incidents. At dinner, Dean sits with Cas at the main table. They sign with salad forks in their hands, and Cas smiles a lot. Weddings aren’t usually Dean’s speed, but this one is… nice.

Halfway through the meal, Dean notices that Cas is getting tense. He starts looking out at the crowd more, and his lips press into a thin line. Like he’s preparing himself for the toast.

“Hey,” Dean says, nudging Cas. _It’s going to be fine._

Cas nods. He takes a deep breath, then taps the side of his spoon against his champagne flute. It rings quietly.

 _You have to be louder,_ Dean signs. Cas tries again, this time with more force, and the shrill sound echoes across the room. Slowly, the murmur of the crowd fades away. Cas stands up, his chair scraping loud against the floor. Dean gets to his feet too.

Cas starts signing, and Dean watches his hands. He translates for the Hearing folks in the crowd. “Hi, everyone. I guess it’s time for the best man speech. Please excuse me if I ignore the actual ‘speech’ part.” Scattered laughter. Those who know Cas know how uncomfortable he is with using his voice. “This is Dean, who’s going to be translating for me.” Dean gives a little wave. Talking about himself in the third person is weird, but after a few years of translating for Cas he’s gotten used to it.

Cas takes a deep breath, hands pausing. He glances at Gabriel and Kali, and smiles. He starts signing, and Dean follows as best as he can. There are a few moments where he trips up over something – one particularly embarrassing part where he has to stop talking and sign, _Wait, what was that sign?_ and Cas has to fingerspell it out – but in general the speech goes well. People laugh, and Cas can tell, and slowly he begins to relax. He’s taken off his tuxedo jacket and rolled his shirtsleeves up to his elbows. He looks like… he looks like he did on the day they met, there in the dorm room, Cas with a book in his hands and Dean with a duffel in his. That was two and a half years ago.

Dean was such a different person then. So new. He had never fallen in love.

Dean has known for a long time that Cas is it for him. But that means more to him now, here, watching the first of their friends get married, than it ever has before. Cas is it for him. Cas is the person he’ll be growing old with. Cas will be the first and last and best part of every day for the rest of Dean’s life.

Dean thinks about this all through dinner and dessert. Gabe and Kali take the first dance, and then Anna and Ruby join in for the second, and then there are twenty couples on the dance floor and Dean is looking at Cas thinking, _I am so in love with this guy._

So he signs it. _I am so in love with you._

Cas puts a hand on the back of his neck and kisses him. He signs, _Can we dance?_

Dean nods, enthusiastic, and pulls Castiel onto the dance floor. One of those throwback songs is playing, something from Dean’s era – Redbone, he thinks. Come and get your love. Dean mouths the lyrics to Cas as they dance. They trip over each other’s feet and it’s great. It’s so great. Dean holds Cas’s hand against his heart.

The song changes, slows. Dean presses a kiss to Cas’s temple, and then to the corner of his mouth. His arms are too busy holding Cas to sign, so he says the words instead. “Someday, we’re gonna have one of these too. You know that, right?”

 _I know_.

Yeah, Dean thinks, this is it. This is it.

 

**Author's Note:**

> The end.  
> I know this is about six months after the last piece, so maybe all the original readers will miss this, but I needed some closure on this 'verse. Here you go. Dean and Cas live happily ever after, etc. Thank you all for sticking with this, and with me.  
> Thanks of course to Tasha and Onja for reading this. Onja, I first befriended you through this 'verse, and Tasha, you have been faithful and helpful throughout this 'verse. You are both really, really wonderful.  
> Title comes from the song by Elvin Bishop, from Awesome Mix Vol. 1. This soundtrack is where the 'verse started, and it makes sense that that's where it should end, too.
> 
> As a less serious side note, I did actually create a vulgar name sign for Gabriel, and if any of you are curious, you can message me on tumblr about it.


End file.
